The Stars Will Continue To Shine
by TheCarolean
Summary: "Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light." -Helen Keller. A story that shows that love is never limited to just one person; love is infinite and takes many forms, even after death. On an unrelated note: I own absolutely nothing from the original work of Gaston Leroux. Yes the prolgue is very short, but all we be explained when chapter 1 is up
1. Chapter 1

Prologue:

With every breath she takes the pain in her chest only seems to increase ever so slightly, and she feels as though her heart will break at any moment. She feels the tears about to break through her eyes, and she tries so very hard to keep them at bay but to no avail; she feels them slowly slide down her face. She knows no one is around to see her cry which only creates more tears that drip from her eyes; to know that she is about to slip slowly into the dark with no one by her side is the thought that saddens her the most.

With all the strength she has left she lifts her arm slowly into the empty air, knowing full well that no one is there but still she is holding on to the tiny bit of hope that someone will reach out to her. And when her fingers feel a warm and loving touch she smiles because she knows it's him. With renewed strength she forces her tear stained eyes to open, and she feels all the pain in her chest start to slowly fade away and she can feel her heart melt when her eyes see his loving face.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, everyone, I have returned TheCarolean! Ok, so I am not really good at these whole introduction things, but I did promise more of an explanation when chapter one goes up and well now…here is chapter one; so here it goes. Alright first of all yes, the prologue was extremely short and may have not been as detailed as some people might have liked. But that is how I pictured the scene in my head when I began writing this story. Yes I gave no names as to who the two people were in the prologue, but you have probably already guessed who the people are (bigger question is though are you sure it is who you think it is? hehehe!). Second as to what the story is about…well I don't want to give too much away, but here goes a second attempt at a summary.** _ **Two broken souls; a man with a bloody past and a young girl with a secret. Both decided that they would forever be alone in this world, but both find each other in the comfort of the dark that they use to hide from the world. Though they don't want it to happen a friendship begins to bloom between them, and they will soon discover that both of them are a northern star to each other in the dark.**_

 **Ok, that was really hard to write (and I have written tons of research papers over the years in school). Anyway I hope the second summary was better than the first, and I hope you enjoyed it. I also hope you enjoy chapter one as well (and don't be shy about leaving comments; I have to have art critiques for this whole semester, so I might as well get used to comments). I digress, happy readings!**

Chapter 1:

Paris, France 1881

"Christine," Erik spoke slowly, "I release you from your promise."

Christine's doe like eyes widened with unexpected shock as he spoke those words quietly to her. She heard what he said, that he released her from her promise to him, but she did not believe it. She needed him to speak again.

"Erik-"

"Don't speak." the words rushed from Erik's mouth, sounding a bit harsh to his own ears, but at this point he was beyond caring. Beyond hope that Christine could ever really fall in love with him. He saw it in those breath taking sapphire eyes of hers, she did not love him nor could she love him…anymore.

At one point in their time together Erik believed that Christine might have loved him as a friend or even a father figure, but he mistook that love for the beginnings of a much deeper love for him. Or had he been blinded for his love for her that he did not even see the kind of love Christine held for him? But did any of it mean now? It was over; Erik knew he had taken something beautiful between them and destroyed it with his own anger and jealousy towards her undying love towards the vicomte. Raoul Dechagny.

He saw the way Christine would always look at the boy; with so much love and adoration towards him, Erik wanted her to look at him that way. Not Raoul. Erik had practically forced her to say that she loved him, threatened her with her lovers life on the line; to stay with him and love him or to leave him in which case he would have killed Raoul had she chosen to leave. When Erik heard Christine say she would stay and love him a victorious thrill rushed through his veins, but the thrill slowly died away when he saw the hope slowly burning away in Christine's eyes as she made her promise.

"I promise," she had said to Erik without looking at him or even Raoul, "I promise I'll stay and love you. Just don't…please don't kill Raoul, please. I swear this will be the only thing I ask of you, please don't kill him."

When Erik saw the look of lost hope in her eyes his heart began to crack. All he ever wanted was for her to love him to accept him and for her to be happy. But he realized that in his selfish attempt to make her his he had destroyed the love and acceptance she had already held for him. In that moment Erik hated himself more than anything else in the whole world, and he truly believed that he was in fact a monster.

Erik knew of only one way to make things right for Christine; he knew that whatever happened after tonight things would never go back to the way they used to be, they could never be how they once were. But Erik had accepted that fact, he would consider it his penance for destroying not only his friendship with Christine, but for destroying her as well.

At this moment all Erik wanted was for the shine of happiness to return to her eyes; he needed to talk and he needed her to listen.

"Christine," Erik spoke much more softly this time, "you deserve to be happy with someone you love. Not forced into an ultimatum to save one man just so one lonely man will feel like he is never alone…and believe that someone actually loves him. You deserve your young man, not me. Not a…monster."

Time seemed to freeze at that very moment; Christine looked up at Erik with tear filled eyes. The look in her eyes was one he would never forget; she looked at him, really looked at him and Erik believed that for the first time she saw not the Phantom before her, but a broken man who only wanted to be loved.

Her silence was becoming unsettling to Erik; she said nothing for the longest time, she only stared back at him with those lovely eyes with tears slowly sliding down her pale cheeks. Finally without saying a word Christine grasped Erik's skeletal hand into her delicate hands and brought his hand up to her sweet lips, where she placed a feather like kiss onto his knuckles.

"Thank you…Erik." she sniffled, "I hope you can find some happiness to light up the darkness that surrounds you."

Christine released his hand and Erik released Raoul from his restraints, the young man never once said a word or made eye contact with his captor as he released him and set both him and Christine free.

As Erik watched them leave his home, silently, hand in hand, he could feel the tears streaming down his face, and when he saw Christine's head came to rest on Raoul's shoulder he felt his heart shatter into pieces.

XXX

London, England 1882

"Addie, I don't understand. Why are you doing this? You know I love you."

"And I love you too, Nathan." Addie said quietly almost apologetic like.

 _Which is why I am doing this._ She added as an afterthought.

"But I don't understand, Addie. If you love me then why don't you want to marry me?"

Nathan's hurt expression was enough to tear Addie's heart right in half. She hated how she was causing him all this pain, but she had to. She had to completely end their relationship now before it was too late.

"Is it because you feel too young to marry?" Nathan asked with a flicker of hope in his emerald eyes. "I know society pressures us to marry at a young age, but I always thought eighteen was a little too young to settle down myself. We have yet to experience this whole world at only eighteen, and to just marry because it's what society expects of us…well…it's quite absurd actually."

Addie allowed Nathan to continue his ramblings; it was something he did when he found himself in a situation that seemed beyond his level of reasoning, control, and if he felt uncomfortable. It was one of his unique quirks that Addie found quite adorable and charming. And she wondered briefly if she was a horrible person to allow him to continue rambling, because she planned to never hear it again, and because with each word he spoke the light of hope in his eyes only seemed to increase. Believing that he could save this relationship.

Addie couldn't allow that.

"Addie, if you are not ready to marry yet then we can wait-I can wait for you."

His words made her heart swell with much more love for him; just like Nathan, to put her first instead of himself.

"Nathan," Addie interrupted his ramble.

Nathan halted his speech and looked at his beautiful Addie with baited breath.

She hated this, but he deserved better than her. "I love you," she spoke solemnly, "but I don't want to marry you," _liar_ , "or any man for that matter." She hated how cold and distant she sounded, but if she wanted to completely end this relationship she had to turn her heart to ice. No matter how much it hurt Nathan now.

 _Remember,_ she told herself, _you are hurting him now to spare him from a greater hurt in the future with you._

Addie took a deep breath and slowly exhaled through her mouth before finally voicing the words that would not only hurt her beloved Nathan, but her as well. "And I believe it is for the best that we stop seeing each other."

The sitting room fell deadly silent; Nathan looked at Addie in pure disbelief, wondering what happened to the Addie he used to know. The shy girl who barely spoke a word, but when she did it would make a person feel special to know that she would grace you with her soft bell like voice. The girl who would hold his hand in her small soft one, and lay her delicate head on his uncomfortable shoulder for no reason other than she loved him.

But the girl standing before him now was a cold and distant stranger. Not Addie.

Addie swore she could have heard Nathan's fragile heart break into a million pieces at her harsh declaration, and she could feel hers on the verge of completely failing her at the present moment. She focused on breathing normally, and prayed that Nathan would say something-do anything to finally end this moment before she completely broke right in front of him, for she had no reserved strength left to end it herself.

 _Selfish bitch._ She ridiculed herself.

After what seemed like a lifetime Nathan finally spoke.

"Addie," she felt her heart crack at how hollow his clear voice sounded, "Just answer one question for me. Why don't you want to marry me? Why- if you claim to love me-why don't you want to marry me?"

"Because, you deserve better than me."

 _Because, you deserve to be with someone who can grow old with you._

Nathan chuckled lightly, cynically and Addie's heart went out to him, carefully.

Nathan's dead eyes fell directly on Addie's, speaking to her as though he were miles away from across the channel. "Addie, you're the only one for me. I fell in love you long ago, and I can't even explain why. I just love you, and I love you enough to obey your word. So, if you want me to go then I shall go, but," Nathan took a few steps towards Addie until he stood right in front of her, towering over her so that she had to tilt her head up to meet he gaze.

 _Please don't let him see through me,_ Addie prayed, _please don't let him see through my façade. He deserves a happy life; a life with a wife and children. A life I could never give him…no matter how much I want to, but my heart won't allow such a life with him._

"know this, Adeline Elizabeth Hadleigh, I Nathaniel Jacob Cain, will always and forever love you. And should the day come when you call to me to come back to you, then I shall run to you without a though as to why or without any hesitation. I will wait patiently for that day to come, Addie, and until that day comes I wish you nothing but happiness."

Addie was reaching her breaking point; she wanted nothing more than to hold Nathan close to her and never let him go. She wanted to tell him just how much she loved him and the reason why she was ending this relationship between the two of them.

 _Stay strong._

Without a word or whisper Nathan placed his long slender hands on either side of her face and gave her one final gentle, loving kiss upon her lips that made her heart miss a beat. He pulled away slowly, savoring the final act of love between them, he stared down at her sadly before wiping away a single tear that had escaped.

 _Damn._

"You'll never know how much I love you, Nathan." Addie heard herself saying in a strained whisper.

He smiled briefly at her words to him, they gave him some small form of comfort that he could always carry with him wherever he went.

"Goodbye, Addie."

She watched him leave; now backward glances to say 'I love you' like he used to do. Without his presence she never felt so incomplete until he left her home.

The sound of the front door shutting reached her ears, and only then did she finally allow herself to break down and cry.

"Addie, you're so stupid!" she cried, "Why? Why? Why? Why did you have to fall in love when you knew you couldn't afford to? I am so sorry, Nathan. I am so sorry…"

The tears rained down from her eyes and breathing started to become somewhat difficult for her; she clutched at her chest and could feel her heart breaking.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi, everybody I am back…again! First of all, wow! I am actually surprised that some people actually like this story, so far. I know it seems slow and boring now, but hey BUILD UP, PEOPLE, leaves you wanting to know what will happen next lols! Second I would like to thank the guests for their comments; you guys really made my day after a morning of artistic arguing with my art professor, and don't worry more is to come, I promise. So, to all of you out there reading this story, many thank you's! I hope ya'll enjoy chapter 2! Happy reading!**

Chapter 2

London, England 1884

Addie walked as silent as a ghost through Regents Park in the middle of the quiet spring night. She almost considered herself a ghost now these days; two years ago when she broke Nathan's heart (or more like ripped it in half and stomped on the remains right in front of him) she decided it was for the best that she never see him again (and for him to never see her). That very evening two years ago after Addie had shed her last tear for Nathan she made the decision to never step out into the light of society ever again.

Over the past two years Addie had become a complete recluse; refusing to wonder out on a bright sunny afternoon, and politely declining invitations' to various social gatherings. Whenever Addie needed something or have an errand to run she would always send one of her servants out to do her work for her. At first everyone including her servants thought it was quite strange that a young woman of eighteen would suddenly become a hermit over night, but whenever asked why the young mistress became so withdrawn from society her servants would always say that Miss Hadleigh found herself incapacitated.

Only six months had gone by when London society had finally accepted the fact that Miss Hadleigh had completely resigned herself from the world. Invitations' had ceased coming, and no one inquired to her servants' about how their mistress was doing, everyone had just accepted Addie as the unseen presence of London.

A ghost.

The only lone exception that Addie ever dared ventured out on her own was in the cover of the night, when the streets would be deserted of people. She did not even let her servants' know where she was going at night in order to avoid the possibility that someone-mainly Nathan-would come and inquire about her whereabouts.

She didn't mind taking midnight strolls', in fact she came to enjoy the solitude of the evening. She rather preferred the silence of the evening over the noisy hustle and bustle of the daylight. She felt more calm and relaxed when she walked through the unoccupied streets and the vacant park, like some kind of specter or phantom. The night of London was her domain.

There were times over the past two years that she admitted to herself that she felt all alone in this world, and did wish that she had a friend to confide in. To understand. She crushed those thoughts before they ever truly boomed. She was destined to be alone, a fate she accepted long before Nathan ever came into her life.

 _It's how it's supposed to be_ Addie reminded herself as she stepped onto the park's bridge to cross the body of water. _You are meant to be alone; Mother died before she even saw you, then father left two years later, and Uncle…well it was like he never existed at all. Get used to this solitude, Addie. You were meant to be-_

Addie's thoughts came to an abrupt halt when she accidently knocked into someone.

 _Who the hell…?_

Addie lifted her head up in order to meet the stranger's gaze, she noted very quickly as she continued to tilt her head up that this mystery person was quite tall. Addie's eyes finally came to rest on the appearance of an older gentleman; he was shrouded in a black coat that appeared to be a size or two too big for him, he had golden colored eyes that seemed to glow in the evening (Addie assumed it was the moonlight shining down that caused his eyes to illuminate in the darkness), and on the left side of his face rested a simple white mask. The mask may have hid one half of the stranger's face but Addie could see that the man standing before her looked worn and exhausted. His cheeks were thin, his skin, almost as pale as her own, made the dark circles under his eyes appear more like bruises than dark circles from lack of sleep.

Any sensible woman who came across a masked stranger, alone, in the park at night would normally run away as fast as she could and seek out help. But the man did not make any movement to make her feel threatened instead he rather just stared at her somewhat puzzled as to why a young lady would be alone in the middle of the night, and she in turn wondered why this man would be walking alone at night as well.

Neither Addie nor the masked man made an attempt to move past one another, they just continued to stare at each other with curiosity; both wondering what brought the other out on a clear spring evening, and soon Addie's own curiosity took over.

She could have just walked away, but years of social etiquette lessons told her it was impolite to just walk off without apologizing, even if she had made the choice to stay away from everyone in this world. That and her own curiosity as to who this man was and why he was wondering around in her dark domain gave her the boldness to break the silence that hung between the two of them.

"Well," Addie spoke coolly, looking the masked man directly in his golden eyes "who the hell are you?"

 **And so the two meet…**

 **I know this chapter was short, but that was how the scene was set up in my head. What do I do? I just write the stuff. Anyway thanks for reading one of the shortest chapters I have ever written in my lifetime, I hope you enjoyed it and I will return, yet again, one day with another chapter. Hope everyone has a great weekend! I know I will *shakes head no*…**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone TheCarolean has returned! Ok first order of business sorry this chapter has been delayed but due to massive amounts of art projects to be completed by due dates, research for this chapter alone, work, and the fact that this chapter was rewritten several times caused a delay in me putting the chapter up. As I told my better half "I would rather have a late chapter that is somewhat decent, then a rushed crappy chapter", but good news to all you Erik lovers out there (and don't lie I know you exist) this is an Erik chapter *blows party horn (for emphasis)*. Second; to everyone who leaves comments thank you so much! The fact that some of you are "intrigued" means that I am writing this story right (yeahs me!), things may not make sense now, but don't worry all will be explained as the story continues on. Again, sorry for the delay, and a fair warning for the future; some chapters may not be put up on a regular schedule for awhile due to the fact that I am taking on a second seasonal job at a haunted house. Ok, I am going to stop now and let you read chapter 3, I hope you guys enjoy this one because this chapter took a lot of work (and I do mean a lot), and I hope it doesn't suck as well. Enjoy and Happy reading!**

Chapter 3:

 _What a beautiful night._ Erik thought to himself as he stopped to gaze up at the full silver moon, he wondered if Christine was gazing upon the same moon as well, but then he quickly chastised himself for even thinking of her-again.

 _Erik, you damn idiot! Stop thinking about her! She made her choice and you made yours. There is no going back now._

Erik resumed walking, this time at a much quicker pace; he tried to think of something else besides Christine, something beautiful that he had seen over the past three years while wondering around the continent of Europe. He thought of the ethereal glowing water of the Blue Grotto to the magnificent height from atop Hyvlatonna, and even the Caves of Hans-Sur-Lesse that held their own dark beauty.

But none of it worked; all his thoughts kept coming back to her, to Christine.

 _Damn it, Erik! When are you ever going to stop thinking about her?_

He tried once again to think of something else besides Christine; this time he thought about why he had even come to England in the first place; to see Beachy Head, a sea side cliff located east of Eastbourne.

Erik had heard talk of Beachy Head from sailors who had passed by the cliffs in their voyages, each one describing the cliffs with the same phrases as "Tallest cliffs I've ever seen" and "The cliffs as white as new fallen snow". From what the sailors had described of Beachy Head Erik decided that it was the ideal location for him.

Finding passage to England had not been an easy one, but nothing in his miserable life of an existence had ever been easy for him. He remembered the day when he crossed the French and Belgium border; it was a rare day for him because he smiled and laughed with genuine joy for the first time in his life. Once he entered Belgium he believed that he could start a new life in the country, but that dream would never become a reality for Erik.

He still felt like a fool for ever believing that he could have a normal life. He once believed that if he left France he could begin a new, but leaving his home country was not enough. There are just some things that he could not leave behind, and Erik learned that lesson quickly.

 _You never could leave anything behind you,_ Erik had once scolded himself. _You always left some form of pain, destruction, or suffering where ever you went. And it always comes back to you, with your bloody finger prints as proof._

It was only a matter of time for Erik now, which is why he risked his life stowing away on the first ship he found headed for London.

Sneaking on board the ship and hiding away had proven to be much easier than Erik had once thought; it was sneaking off the ship once they had docked that had proved to be the real challenge. Erik was still amazed with himself on how he was able to get away and avoid being captured by the Harbor Patrol.

He had succeeded; he made it to England.

Now all he needed to do was to make it to Eastbourne.

 _But how?_ Erik had thought more than once before, but now asked himself again. _How will I manage to get there?_

 _A better question is why haven't you left this city yet?_ Came his cold logical side.

Erik's pace began to slow as he pondered on his last thought.

 _Why haven't I left?_

Erik made it a habit to only stay within a place for only a day at the most. He was well aware that tonight would be his third night stay in London, which for him was a few days too longs, and now –just now-he began to wonder to himself why he remained within the city.

 _What's wrong with you?_ He thought bitterly to himself, _Traveling on foot was never a transportation problem for you. You have a general direction of where you are headed. Why are you still here?_

For this Erik had no answers to justify his reasoning's.

 _You have no reason to remain here,_ he reminded himself harshly, _there is nothing and there is most certainly no one to keep you here. You should just-_

Erik had been so consumed in his own self loathing that he failed to notice the other wondering soul in front of him until he knocked right into them.

 _What the…?_

Erik froze in place when his eyes landed on that of a young girl, and his breathing came to a halt when her gaze came to rest on him.

She was quite a unique looking individual; a very petite girl dressed entirely in black with pale porcelain skin that reminded him of one of those Lolita dolls. Her hair reminded him of delicately fallen snow, and he wondered briefly if her hair was actually white or if it was only the moonlight shining down on her that caused her hair to appear so. She also allowed her long straight hair to glide down over her shoulders without any ornaments or even a simple ribbon to keep stray hairs out of her eyes.

Her pale arctic blue eyes stared back into his questioningly, wondering what _he_ was doing here.

The fact that she did not seem afraid of him at all both surprised him and made him nervous as well; he was actually quite stunned that she did not run away as quickly as she could from him while screaming into the night for help.

He wondered who this young girl was, who was brave enough to walk through the night alone, who appeared not to be afraid of him-a masked stranger-at all.

He wondered who _she_ was.

He was about to ask the young girl what brought her out to the park this late at night, but her small bell like voice spoke first and rang throughout Erik's entire body causing his nerves to freeze as she demanded to know who he was.

"Well, who the hell are you?"

For the first time in his life Erik felt as though his voice, an instrument he always believed contained some form of power for him, had been shattered.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello everyone TheCarolean is back with a new chapter! Yes I am semi back on a schedule, but don't get used to it because my second job at scaring the crap out of people for the Halloween season begins tonight (YES!), which means double the workload and many sleepless nights completing projects for classes (Yeah!...) which leads to new chapters being posted at later dates. But lucky for all of you who are followers (or anyone who reads this story at all) I was inspired to write this chapter and thus able to put up on the site now, so hooray for inspiration (wherever the hell it came from…). Also I would like to dedicate this chapter to a good friend of mine, because she is amazing person who has helped me out so many times in art class, the biggest of which was gifting me with supplies for the class when she didn't have to (which really helped in my budgeting area and I am and will forever be grateful for) and just being an all around wonderful person. Get comfortable because it is a long chapter. Happy readings!**

Chapter 4:

Moments crept by as Erik continued to stare at the young girl, unable to utter a single word.

 _You dolt! Say something!_

Erik wanted to tell her that he was simply just a traveler passing through London before heading to Eastbourne, but his mouth would not open to form the words his mind was saying. He felt as if his throat had just closed up. Then a sudden realization smacked him at full force; he had not spoken a single word in three years to anybody.

The last time he had ever used his voice to speak was to Christine when he released her from her promise to him, after that tragic night years ago.

Since then he had not spoken a word.

Never in his treks across Europe had he stopped and spoken to anyone. He thought it necessary to avoid people at all costs, considering the situation he was in, and it seemed the result of his lack of interaction between others of the human race had caused the simple habit of Erik choosing not to speak.

"I said; who the hell are you?" The girl demanded, this time with a bit more force in her voice.

 _Damn it, you have to say something at least._

But no words would come from Erik's voice.

Even though he was semi locked in an internal struggle to use his voice Erik had to admit he did admire the moonlight pale girl before him. If she was scared of him she did very well at hiding her fear; she stood as up straight and tall as much as her height would allow, her eyes remained locked on him and not once did her glance waver away or show any trace of fear at all. She seemed determined to know just who he (a masked stranger to her) was, and what he was doing her.

As she waited for Erik to give an answer her icy features began to slowly thaw; her light eyebrows knitted together in a quizzical fashion, and Erik could see that she was now studying his strange behavior.

"Can you hear me?" she asked him with the hint of an apology lacing her voice, "Do you understand English?"

Erik nodded his head to show he could hear and understand her. He felt like an idiot; having to be reduced to gestures to convey his messages.

"Oh, then you are a mute."

Erik shook his head no.

She looked at him strangely; unsure of what she should do next. Erik hated the way she was looking at him; it made him feel completely helpless. He had taken care of himself all of his life, he never needed help from anyone. But now this girl who stood before him had somehow reduced him to a silent helpless child, which took a giant toll on his already shrinking pride.

Erik could feel himself shake just slightly; the entire interaction between him and the young girl was starting to become frustrating to him, and he wanted nothing more than to leave at that very moment and forget the whole event.

"I don't understand," she said, "If you can hear, speak, and understand what I am saying, then why won't you talk?"

Erik lowered his head slightly and took a deep breath, and tried to force some words out of his mouth to explain to her what he himself could not fully understand.

 _Talk, you damn idiot!_ Erik demanded of himself

"I-i-i-it's…c-c-com-p-pli-c-c-cated."

Erik quickly covered his mouth with his hand; embarrassed and ashamed of how rusty his once elegant voice sounded.

"Are you alright?" was her concern reply.

 _What the hell kind of question is that?_ Erik wanted to say.

The slight shakiness that Erik had felt just moments earlier had increased and he could feel moisture within the corners of his eyes, and a slight pounding in his head. He also felt a slight chill within his body as well.

 _What is wrong with me?_

Erik felt fine moments before, but now he was beginning to feel slightly ill. He had almost forgotten about the girl until she spoke again reminding him of her presence.

"Sir, are you alright?" voice completely laced with concern.

Erik looked up at her and removed his now trembling had away from his mouth to answer her, with his broken voice.

"N-n-n-n-not…r-r-re-re-rea-l-l-ly"

Without thinking Erik then past the girl as fast as he could to get away from her. He could hear her shouting at him to stop, but he continued to run on wobbly legs not daring to even look back.

The pounding in his head increased and he felt slightly dizzy as he increased his speed, but he refused to stop until he knew he was well away from her.

"Sir, please stop!" he heard her command not too far from him.

He then felt the slightest bit of pressure on his upper right arm and he knew that she had caught him.

 _Damn it!_

Normally Erik would have turned and snapped the person's wrist for even having the gall to touch his person (man or woman), but in that instant all he really wanted to do was stop.

He felt exhausted, dizzy, but worst of all he felt defeated.

 _How?_ He thought sadly as he came to a halt, a decision that he soon regretted because once he stopped running he felt his legs give way and the pressure upon his arm disappeared as he fell on to his hands and knees.

Has Erik lowered his head to avoid seeing the girls gaze and he wondered what had become of him; he wondered what happened to the Opera Ghost, The Phantom of the Opera. He wondered how he had been reduced to a pitiful excuse for a nobody.

 _How?_ He thought as tears rolled down his cheeks steadily, _How did I become like this?_

XXX

"N-n-n-n-not…r-r-re-re-rea-l-l-ly" The older gentleman had choked out with his shaky, cracked voice.

Then without warning he took off running past Addie.

 _What the…?_ Addie thought as she watched him run away.

"Hey, wait!" she called out to his retreating figure, "Stop!"

Acting on instinct alone Addie sprinted after him.

 _Why the hell am I even chasing after this man?_ She wondered as she ran after him, faster than she ever had in her life.

As Addie got closer to his figure she could feel that all too familiar pain beginning to form once again.

 _Damn it!_ She winced as a minor shock of pain shot through her chest. _Did he really need to run away from me?_

Addie knew she was putting her body into overtime with running at such a fast pace; she hoped that she wouldn't have had to increase her running, but the man's legs were longer than hers; giving him a slight advantage over her short stature.

"Sir, please stop!" She commanded as gently as she could in order to show him she meant him no harm.

His pace didn't slow.

Another shot of pain stabbed at her chest, causing her to wince again.

 _This has to end now and fast._

Addie wanted-needed-to stop; she could have just let him go and be on her way as well and forget that this even had ever occurred. She could go on with the way things were now, but she could not find it in herself to just let this stranger run away.

 _Addie you've never had a problem with pushing anybody away before._ She thought as she once again increased her speed. _Why won't you let this person go as well?_

For this she had no logical answer.

All she knew as that she could not let this one man just simply run away.

 _Why?_

She ground her teeth together as a third shot of pain coursed through her chest. Addie knew she was going well past her limits, but she refused to stop, she was so close now that the option of stopping was no more to her.

 _Damn it, Addie,_ she growled, pushing herself further, _You better make this worth everything it is._

The man was now literally an arm's length away from her. She reached out and prayed she could catch some part of his clothing in order to make him stop running. She smiled with victory when her hand caught his upper right arm, but that smile soon faded and she quickly released her hold on him as he ceased running and collapsed to the ground.

XXX

"Sir? Sir?"

Erik could hear that bell like voice ringing not too far from him.

Unwilling to answer it with his poor voice.

"Sir?" The voice spoke a little louder this time.

Erik looked up and once again found his gaze locked with the icy blue eyes of that strange girl, wishing he could just escape.

She appeared to be either concerned for his well being, or pitied him.

 _Why should she care?_ He wondered dully.

"Sir, are you alright?" she asked very gently to him once again.

 _No._

"I-I-I-I…d-d-d-don-t…f-f-f-fe-fe-feel…" the sentence died on Erik's lips, as he allowed the sweet solitude of darkness to overtake him.

XXX

Addie took a few deep breaths to relieve the pain within her chest slightly before tending to the man that had now collapsed at her feet.

 _It won't do him any good if we're both lying on the ground helpless._ She reasoned with herself.

Addie exhaled one more deep breath before returning her attention back to the stranger before her. She could hear the man breathing deeply as well as she moved to kneel in front of him, only his breathing sounded strained and rattled each time he exhaled.

"Sir?" She prodded gently without forcing him to look at her.

He didn't look up.

"Sir?"

Still no response.

 _Perhaps he can't hear me._

This time Addie spoke a little louder, "Sir?"

The stranger slowly lifted his head up and she was once again met by those intriguing golden irises of his that now had a sickly gloss coating them. In the moonlight Addie could see the tears slowly running down his thin pale cheeks. He looked positively ill and Addie's shielded heart went out to the broken soul before her.

"Sir, are you alright?"

She knew perfectly well that he was not alright, that something was indeed wrong with him, but even still Addie waited patiently for him to answer her. She now knew he had some sort of handicap with his speech, and was most likely trying to find a simple phrase to relay to her what and how he was feeling.

"I-I-I-I…d-d-d-don-t…f-f-f-fe-fe-feel…" He never finished his sentence.

His thin frame swayed softly like a tree branch caught in a gentle breeze, and his eyes flickered briefly before slowly closing. He began to fall off to the side but Addie caught him before he had the chance to hit the ground.

His head now rested slightly on her left shoulder, and her hands were placed delicately on his back in what looked like an awkward embrace. Even through the thin material of his shirt she could feel not only how abnormally warm he was, but also every bone in his body as well. He felt so fragile in her hold; if it wasn't for the fact that she grabbed his arm earlier she would have thought even the slightest amount of pressure would cause him to break into a thousand broken pieces.

"You don't feel well." Addie stated quietly to him and herself.

Addie rubbed his back softly, he gave no response.

At the present moment Addie didn't know how she should feel; she felt empathy towards the man in her arms, but there was something else she felt as well. Something that she couldn't describe or even begin to explain.

Whatever that feeling was Addie also felt that she just couldn't abandon this masked stranger. She could have easily left him lying in the park, wash her hands of him and be on her own way as before he intruded upon her life. But she couldn't bring herself to leave him. Addie knew that their fates, whatever they may become, were now sealed together.

There was no going back now.


	6. Chapter 6

**SPECIAL NOTICE:** **If you are like me and love hearing about random facts about stories, movies, shows, etc. Then check out the special bonus section at the end of this chapter to find out about somewhat weird facts about the making thus far of The Stars Will Continue To Shine.**

 **Hi, everyone! After a whole month of scaring people, working the late night shifts at my other job, working on art projects, getting over an illness and to top it all off rewriting this chapter (this one single chapter that went through so many rewrites that I lost count of how many times I crossed out pages and sections in my notebook) TheCarolean has returned! But yes, this particular chapter went through a lot of rewrites before I finally decided that this version was the one that worked for me, and let me just say Holy S**t, so much work (and it is longer than previous chapters too! So you better find a comfy seat). But moving on; anyway I would like to say thank you to everyone who leave comments which are much appreciated, and to those who are still following this story sorry for the huge delay in this one chapter, hopefully the next one will not take as long (I feel as though I have just jinxed myself). Hope you enjoy the chapter, Happy Readings!**

Chapter 5:

 _"There are billions of stars that cover the night sky."She said calmly, looking up to the sky._

 _"Indeed." Erik agreed, his gaze directed towards the sky as well._

 _"Sometimes, I wonder," she said more to herself then to her masked friend, "what happens when a star fades away?"_

 _Erik casted a sideways glance in her direction and wondered what her young mind was thinking of._

 _"I mean it would be a more pleasant thought to believe that the stars will shine forever." The ghost of a smile hovered among her pretty lips, "But nothing lasts forever."_

 _In that instant Erik's affection for the young girl grew a little more in his heart. He wanted to place his arm around her slim shoulders, and bring her some form of comfort from the pain she was still suffering from. But he refrained from doing so, and kept his modest distance between them._

 _"Erik."_

 _"Hmm?" he turned his full attention to her, "What is it, Christine?"_

 _"What do you think happens when a star fades away?"_

 _He turned his attention back towards the night sky and the stars that shone above them and briefly mediated on her question._

 _"I believe," said Erik after giving her question some serious thought, "that the stars will continue to shine. Even if one fades away, the rest will continue to shine."_

XXX

Erik woke up slowly to an unfamiliar blurry, white, world; he rubbed the lingering remains of sleep from his eyes and then sat up slowly discovering that he had been placed on a firm bed.

 _Where am I?_ He wondered as he looked at his surroundings. He soon realized that the white world that he had woken up to was actually nothing more than stark white sheets, which had been hung around him creating a poor excuse of a private room. From what Erik could gather of his limited surroundings he assumed that he was in some sort of hospital.

Just the thought of being in a hospital made Erik's heart rate increase, and caused a sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach. He absolutely detested hospitals' and he was not too fond of those who chose to work in them either.

Erik did his best to remain calm; he knew that if he panicked that someone would come by to check on him, and would most likely sedate him.

He had to stay calm.

 _Stay calm, Erik_ He ordered of himself.

He tried to think of something-anything-that would calm his nerves. He thought of the dream that he had woken from, not so much a dream, but a memory one of the few fond memories he had in his awful life. He remembered how he had taken Christine out to the country side of Paris all those years ago, so that she could gaze up at the stars. At the time it was the anniversary of her father's death, and the poor girl was still grieving over the loss of her father. There was no masking the sorrow etched in her face, but everyone at the Opera either did not notice or ignored her, which made his blood boil that her so called friends could not see the pain in her eyes. Erik decided to take her out star gazing in the hopes that not only would Christine's smile return, but so that she could also look up towards the heavens, and believe in the comforting thought that her father was still watching over her.

 _What a beautiful evening it was._

A vision of Christine began to cloud his thoughts, but before the vision took over he smashed it fiercely.

 _Stop thinking of her!_

The next thing that came to his mind was the very last moment he remembered; an encounter with a young girl, who looked as though she had been made from stardust. Erik remembered her icy gaze staring back into his eyes, and how her eyes melted into clear pools of concern for his well being. He remembered that he felt embarrassed at how broken his voice had sounded, ashamed of himself for allowing his voice to become so, and frightened of some girl who had just met.

The tempest of emotions that ran through Erik during that encounter was enough to make him feel sick. He wanted those feelings to be gone; he wanted the encounter with her to be over and done with. The only solution he could think of to end the situation was one he relied on his whole life.

He ran away.

As fast as he could Erik did his best to get away from those feelings and that girl too, but his efforts were fruitless. For God knows what reason she chased after him, and much to his surprise caught him as well.

 _Why?_ Erik pondered, _Why did she run after me? I was nothing but a stranger to her, but she chased after me._

The very last moment that he remembered was seeing her face inches from his asking him if he was alright, and how he tried to tell her he wasn't feeling well before he passed out. Erik then began to wonder who had brought him to his current location.

The girl would have been the obvious answer, but Erik dismissed the notion. He found it hard to believe that a girl as small as she was would have the strength to carry some of his size, let alone drag him. He assumed that she had come to her senses and left him after he passed out, which raised the question, yet again, of who brought him here.

There was a minor shot of pain that Erik felt building up again in his head, and he began to feel both mentally and physically exhausted (again). He placed his head slowly in his hands, hoping that the lack of light would dull the growing pain, but when his face came in contact with his hands he would have sworn that he felt his own heart cease beating for a minute. He could feel the marred skin on the left side of his face.

Some one had removed his mask while he slept.

The idea of staying calm was no more; Erik didn't care if there were curtains that surrounded him, someone had removed his mask, exposed his face to not only themselves, but God knows who else. He felt as though he had been violated in a cruel way.

Erik kept most of the left side of his face hidden with his hand; even though it was a long shot that his mask would be anywhere near him he still searched his surrounding area wildly for his mask. He found the item sitting on the bedside table, he quickly grabbed it and put it over the damaged side of his face, and then like a small child he pulled the covers over his head.

He felt an eerie feeling begin to settle over him; he didn't know where he was, or what was even going to happen to him, but the fact that someone had removed his mask was never a good sign for him.

 _Why can't I just die?_ Erik though as he closed his eyes and imagined himself somewhere that was not on God's green earth.

XXX

Addie was dozing when the carriage door opened suddenly, causing her to become fully awake.

"Sorry, Miss Hadleigh," The coachmen, Thomas, apologized. "but we are here."

"Thank you, Thomas." Said Addie as she took Thomas's hand and stepped out of the carriage and into the bright sunlight.

For the first time in two years Addie Hadleigh had stepped into the light of day.

"Can you wait here for a few minutes, Thomas? I shouldn't take too long."

With a slight bow Thomas said that he would wait for her.

Addie practically ran up the stairs of the hospital, anxious to get out of the busy streets. She had grown accustomed to her nocturnal, reclusive life that it felt strange and somewhat uncomfortable being out in the day time. But she had no choice; this was one task that Addie did not trust anyone of her servants to handle.

Upon entering the hospital Addie ran straight into one of the nurses, startling the young girl.

 _I just seem to keep running right into people_

Addie quickly apologized to the nurse, and asked if she had seen Doctor Williams. The young nurse said she had not seen him in awhile before she scuttled past Addie to continue her duties.

"Miss Hadleigh!" An urgent voice called.

Addie recognized the voice immediately; it was the old, friendly voice of Doctor Williams. She turned her head in the direction of where his voice had come from and soon found Doctor Williams, a small elderly man that wore round spectacles making his ageing grey eyes look much larger.

Addie rushed over and quickly greeted him.

"How is my cousin?" She asked.

When Addie had first brought the collapsed man to the hospital an inner voice had told her to lie and say that he was a relation of hers. She couldn't fathom why she felt the need to lie, but deep down she had a feeling that it was necessary.

"I really can't say, Miss Hadleigh." Doctor Williams admitted hesitantly while pushing his spectacles back from the bridge of his nose.

"What do you mean?" Addie was now concerned for the man; had his condition worsened over the night?

Doctor Williams motioned for Addie to follow him while he began to explain what was wrong with her "cousin"

"This morning I had one of the nurses go and check on him and she found him hiding under the bed covers, refusing to come out."

As they entered the west wing of the hospital Addie asked what could have happened to make him behave that way.

Doctor Williams began to wring his hands in a nervous fashion, "Well, I believe that might be my fault." He admitted.

Addie gave him a skeptical glance, finding it hard to believe that little old Doctor Williams could do anything to scare a patient. "What makes you say that?"

They walked at a fast pace down the aisle of hospital beds, they finally came to stand at the edge of the last bed of the left row. White sheets had been placed around the bed in order to give the patient some form of privacy.

"Well, I thought it was not a wise idea to allow your cousin to have his mask on while he slept." Doctor Williams explained, "I thought he had a good reason for wearing it, which is why I put up these sheets before I removed his mask so that he may have some privacy without other patients or staff gawking at him. I guess he might have panicked when he awoke to find found his mask missing from his face."

"Oh, dear." Addie couldn't help but feel slightly responsible as well for causing the man to go into a state of panic.

"Has your cousin experienced any traumatic events that would cause him to act this way?"

"To be truthful, Doctor Williams, I do not know." Addie hastened to explain further when the Doctor's withered face became slightly confuse at her words. "We only met just last night-he had contacted me months prior explaining how he was my mother's cousin, and that he wanted to meet me. He fell ill so suddenly that we really didn't get a chance to talk that much."

It wasn't exactly a lie, just a slightly altered version of how she had come to meet the masked man hiding under the covers. She knew her explanation had a few flaws in it, but Doctor Williams accepted her explanation as it was.

Wanting the conversation to movie in a different direction Addie suggested to the Doctor to allow her a few minutes alone with her "cousin"

"Perhaps I can coax him out of hiding."

"Very well." Doctor Williams agreed, "While you speak with your cousin I shall check on the rest of my patients. I won't be too far away in case you need me."

"Thank you, Doctor Williams."

She watched momentarily as Doctor Williams left her side to check on the other patients within the wing, making sure he was out of earshot before stepping behind the curtains of the makeshift private room.

Addie had a variety of feeling when she saw the large frame of the man hiding under the covers. She felt terrible that it was she who was the root of his terrified response, but she also thought it slightly comical to see a fully grown man hiding like a small child. Which lead her to feel guilty that she would find his distress laughable.

She stared down at the form on the bed; wondering how she could convince him to come out.

 _At least try something._ Her inner voice demanded.

Without giving it a single thought, Addie said the first words that popped into her head.

XXX

For hours Erik had stayed hidden under the sheets, refusing to come out. The first person to discover him in his ridiculous state was a young nurse who seemed afraid that he might have passed away in the night. She asked him if he was okay and in response to her _real_ question he wiggled his legs to show that he was still alive. She then asked if he would like to come out from under the covers so she could check on him. Erik's only response was pulling the covers down tighter over his head.

He heard her leave his bedside, thankful that she was gone but he heard her quickly return, this time with another nurse who sounded slightly older and more experienced than she. The next nurse spoke to Erik soothingly, like he was a baby, trying to coax out from under the covers. Erik knew she meant well and she was only doing her best to give him a reason not to be scared of them, but the treatment annoyed him and degraded him even further.

He wished they would take his silent hint and go away.

He got his wish; he heard both women leave, muttering about what they should do. He heard the name Doctor Williams come from the younger nurse's mouth and then nothing more for they were out of his range of hearing.

About ten minutes after they left they returned with a doctor, who sorely lacked any bedside manner. Erik assumed that it was Doctor Williams.

"You brought me here for this?" he practically roared at the nurses, "For God's sakes just pull the covers off of him."

"Sir, I don't think that would be a wise idea." The eldest nurse had spoken up.

"Are you a doctor?" he snapped at her.

There was no response from her; Erik could imagine her head lowered and shaking her head timidly.

"I didn't think so." Said the ill mannered Doctor Williams.

In the next instant Erik felt the covers being tugged viciously at his feet.

"Come out from under there." The doctor growled.

Erik reacted on instinct and delivered a swift kick to the bastard. He thought he would miss his potential target, but when he felt his foot make contact with something followed by a man's startled yelp of pain Erik knew he unintentionally found his target.

 _Try that again and see what happens next._

Erik wanted nothing more than to tell the trio to leave, but he was afraid that his voice would sound as rusty as it had the last time he had spoken with someone. He also believed that if he spoke they would not leave, but stay and try to convince him to come out of his hiding place.

"Why you son of a-!"

"Doctor Burke!" came an unexpected authoritative voice of what sounded to Erik like a much more seasoned doctor.

 _Doctor Burke? So this ass isn't Doctor Williams._

"What are you doing to _my_ patient?"

There was a sudden rush of voices, each one explaining the situation to the new arrival.

"Enough!" the older man yelled, "Jesus! I am about ready to follow his example and throw a sheet over my head as well!"

He then halted his speech for a moment to take a breath, when he spoke again his voice was much more calmer than before, but still held some hostility.

"Doctor Burke, go home for the day-don't argue-just go."

Erik heard the disgruntled Doctor Burke leave, muttering swears under his breath

"As for you two," he now addressed the nurses, some of the hostility in his voice had melted away, "why didn't you come get me? Why did you go to Doctor Burke when you knew that this is my patient?"

The first nurse that had come to check on Erik apologized and said that they could not find him, and that Doctor Burke was the only doctor they could find at the time. The young nurse sounded close to crying; that is when the oldest nurse stepped in.

"It's my fault." she said, "Lilith tried to tell me that we should try to find you first, but I said that we had to think of the patient first and get him a doctor. Doctor Burke was the first doctor we could find. We didn't think he would act so insensitive towards the patient."

The elder doctor, whom Erik now assumed was Doctor Williams, sighed and said that he understood. He then instructed them that the next time that they couldn't find him to then seek out his colleague, Doctor Inman. He then told Olivia (the older nurse) to take Lilith outside and allow her to compose herself. Erik heard both nurses leave without a word.

Before taking his leave, Doctor Williams apologized to Erik, "Sorry about all that. I don't blame you for hiding from them. But," his voice took on a slight whimsical tone, "now that they are gone would you consider coming out now?"

Erik remained motionless.

"I didn't think so." Doctor Williams said more to himself than to Erik, then added, "Don't worry I'll make sure no one disturbs you unless I say so."

He then left, leaving Erik alone once more with his thoughts.

XXX

Erik awoke to the sounds of voices; he found it odd that he didn't remember falling asleep. He listened intently, trying to make out what they were saying, but to no avail, they both spoke so quietly.

He could recognize the voice of the doctor who had spoke to him earlier, but the second voice was one he could not place (though it sounded eerily familiar to his ears). Erik assumed-hoped-that the other person speaking was just another nurse.

The conversation between the two ended; he heard one person walk away and moment later he heard the soft rustling of the sheets as someone tried to enter the makeshift room quietly. Whoever had entered had halted at his bedside, and he waited for them to say or do something.

 _Try all you want. I am not coming out from under here._

"How are you feeling this morning, cousin?" an all too familiar voice asked him cheerily.

 _Cousin?_ Erik was more confused than anything else at the moment. As far as he knew he had no living relations.

"Better I hope." They said.

 _What the hell?_

Though Erik would rather stay where he was and hope that whoever the person was would leave, he had to know who was claiming to be his blood.

Erik pulled the covers off from his head and found himself once again, face to face with the strange young girl from the park.

Even though Erik feared his voice would sound damaged beyond repair, he had to know what was going on. Before he even thought about opening his mouth the girl placed her slim index finger over her pale lips, indicating for him to stay silent.

In response Erik casted her a wary glance, distrust heavily laced in his eyes.

 _What the hell kind of game is she playing?_

 ***BONUS SECTION***

 **Hi! It's me TheCarolean again! As a special treat for everyone who waited for this chapter to be released, and as a small celebration (because I never thought I would make it this far in the story) here are the top 5 random fun facts about the making of The Stars Will Continue To Shine, thus far. Hope you enjoy!**

 **I was actually inspired to write this story when I heard a cover of Vocaloid's song Your Star. The day before I moved back to campus I was packing up and while scrolling through YouTube to find music to listen to the song was recommended to me. Upon hearing the first notes and lyrics of the song I could see the characters of Addie and Erik and a story in the making. Since then music has been a main source of inspiration for both characters and story development. If you have time check out the links to the top 3 songs that have played a huge role thus far in the story.**

 **Your Star by Vocaloid (Cover by JoyDreamer) results?q=vocaloid%20your%20star &sm=3**

 **Last Song by Vocaloid (Cover by JoyDreamer) results?q=last%20song%20vocaloid &sm=1**

 **Yoru no Kuni (Land of Night) by Annabel (Cover by TYER featuring AmyAnn) results?q=gangsta%20ending &sm=1 **

**I had someone comment and say that I focused too much on characters' eyes in the story, well there is a reason for that; it is because a person's eyes are important to me. As they say, "eyes are the windows to the soul" and when I speak to someone their eyes tell more than what their mouth says. I focus on eyes because to me eyes can tell so much more; if someone is lying to you, if they are really sad, or happy, scheming (and even if they are alive or dead). Which is why I have more details in the eyes of my characters.**

 **Erik's sudden illness in the story was inspired by my own real life illness I came down with while at school. I am not going to go into great detail because it was one of the most depressing years in my entire life, but the short version is that once I switched my majors I began to feel better both physically and mentally (and I don't regret my choice in switching majors). Also, the loss of his voice was inspired when I lost my own voice after working at a haunted house. I couldn't talk for a whole day, and when I could barely talk my voice sounded, as I say in the story broken. Really freakin' embarrassing.**

 **Character names: Believe it or not some of these names have some thought behind them, while a majority of them were completely made up on the spot of writing. Adeline Elizabeth Hadleigh (Addie for short); I picked the name Adeline/Addie because I like the name, her middle name was chosen on the spot while writing and I chose her last name because it is the last name of one of my favorite doctor's on the show House. Nathaniel Jacob Caine (Nathan for short); I chose the name Nathan because I was thinking of REPO the Genetic Opera at the time of writing, while his middle and last name are the result of me doing some biblical research one night, and when it came time to give the character a full name I thought of the names Jacob and Caine. Though a minor role (so far) Doctor Williams name is based on a real life doctor; Doctor Daniel Hale Williams, who was the first doctor on record to perform open heart surgery (and for haha's if Doctor Daniel Hale Williams would be in the story the surgery would take place in 1893). Doctor Burke's name is the result of a place holder name; originally I used the last name of someone I knew as a place holder in the story, I was going to change the name, but decided to keep the name for the simple (and funny) reason that the name Burke rhymed with jerk (I know classy). And lastly the two nurses names Lilith and Olivia were made up on the spot of writing as well.**

 **I will admit I use anime and manga as sources of inspiration for my story, but I also do research to keep the time period as accurate as I possibly can (and I don't mean I google stuff I actually ask people in the history department about the time period and they help me research). Hence why the story is not 100% historically accurate and why some character traits/personalities (like Addie) are not accurate as well. In short it is a story not only for my entertainment, but for yours as well.**

 **Hope you enjoyed these small little fun facts, and if I don't get another chapter up in time; Have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello, I am back, TheCarolean! Well here it is the new chapter! I do apologize for the time it took to bring you a new chapter, but due to unforeseen circumstances that I had to take care of first the writing process to this story came to a halt. Good news everything is fixed now…sort of, and I can get back to writing. I hope all of you had wonderful and safe Holidays (that's right I said Holidays lols), and I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and many thank yous for checking this story out and for any comments people have left. Enjoy and Happy Readings!**

Chapter 6:

"Look I don't have a lot of time to explain," Addie's voice was just barely above a whisper.

Her sickly friend motioned for her to come closer to him, his eyes still filled with mistrust.

Obeying his request Addie moved closer and sat down on the edge of his bed so that he would be able to hear what she had to say. Her action caused him to scoot away from her quickly as though she had some sort of disease.

"Hey, you were the one who wanted me to move closer." Addie was in no mood for whatever game this man might want to play, "If you move away from me how will you hear what I have to say to you?"

He brushed off what she had just said and motioned with his left hand for her to continue.

"I've told the staff here that you are my cousin. Play along, and we can get out of here with no other questions asked of us." Addie halted in her speech momentarily, unsure of how to word her other half of the half baked plan she had created last night. She had spent the entire evening debating with her conscious about what she should do; one half of her mind told her that she fulfilled her duty by taking the man to the hospital for medical assistance, and that she should continue on with her own life. The other half of her mind disagreed; and while it still made no sense to Addie she followed the illogical half of her mind.

She broke eye contact, looking down instead at the starch white bed sheets and quickly blurted out, "You can stay with me while you are recovering."

Addie missed the momentary look of shock upon his face.

She looked back up at him with a nervous smile, his gaze still wary of her actions and motives. "Hell, I told them you were here visiting me anyway." She took a second to collect her jangled nerves, "Once you've recovered you can go about your way."

Erik couldn't believe what he was hearing; this girl-someone who knew absolutely nothing about him was willing to take him in (into her own home no less) until he recovered. Something did not seem right to him. Why would someone offer to help him?

Why?

It made no sense to Erik; she was not even afraid of him.

Why?

What was her motive? What did she have to gain by helping him?

With the small amount of strength Erik had gained with a nights rest he grabbed the girl roughly by the collar of her black dress, causing her to squeak at his sudden action, and pulled her down to him so that their faces were only a few mere inches away.

"Why should I trust you?" Erik hissed, his voice rough and cracked from illness and years of non use.

Addie glared directly at him, with a fierce look upon her young face. Though she breathed through her nose (in order to keep her anger in check, for she was not pleased with the way he had just handled her in such a manner) her breathing was even indicating to him that she was neither afraid nor intimidated by him.

"I never said you had to trust me." Addie growled, pushing his arm away from her.

Erik was not amused by her daring act to lay a hand on him.

Their eyes became locked with one another, like two dogs staring each other down to show who was the alpha.

Neither one willing to back down.

"It's your choice on whether or not you want my help." Addie said through gritted teeth.

Erik made no comment (he did not wish to speak anyway with the way his voice was).

"I'll go now, if that is what you want."

Addie rose and made to leave him behind, but he quickly grabbed her thin wrist. Before she could get even a breath out the main held up an index finger, signaling her to wait a minute.

With the little amount of time he had Erik thought very carefully about his current position; he was in ill health, and was in no condition to travel to Eastbourne on his own. With what happened down at the docks upon his arrival he had to find a place to lay low and hide for awhile, and this girl offered the perfect opportunity for him. For God's sakes she was telling people that he was her cousin! An advantage that could possibly work for him.

 _Do I even have a choice anymore?_

Sighing in defeat, Erik held out his left hand to her, accepting her offer of help.

Her scowl quickly melted into a bright smile, no doubt she was enthralled at having won their little battle, and she didn't waste time in taking his long skeletal hand into her small frail one. He was surprised by how strong her grip was when she shook his hand.

She introduced herself to him in a polite manner, "I am Addie Hadleigh. Please to meet you…"

"Erik." He managed to croak out without too much difficulty.

"Have you a surname?"

He shook his head no.

"Even better," she smiled, Erik did not think it was possible for her smile to get any brighter, "since I am masquerading you as my cousin you may have my mother's maiden name, Annwyl."

 _Annwyl?_ Erik though curiously as he released his grip from Addie's, _Strange name._

"I'll go get Doctor Williams. Do refrain from hiding under the covers, please." Addie added before leaving Erik alone to ponder about the choice he just made.

 _Am I a fool, to accept the help of a stranger?_

Knowing just her name meant nothing to him without knowing her.

 _Or are you the fool, Addie Hadleigh, for wanting to help a stranger?_

XXX

After examining his patient Doctor Williams allowed Addie to take her ill "cousin" home with her, which was a huge relief to not only her but Erik as well (he wanted to be out and as far away from the hospital as quickly as possible). The doctor gave Addie strict instructions that Erik should at least have a peaceful week of bed rest, and after she had informed him of the condition of Erik's voice he recommended that Erik rest his voice for a day, even two if needed.

"I know your cousin just arrived," said Doctor Williams as he assisted Erik into Addie's awaiting coach.

Again Erik felt his pride shrink with the help from the doctor. Caring for his patient aside it still made him feel like a child.

 _I am not that weak!_ Erik had thought bitterly as the elderly man helped support his form.

"But you should consider getting him out of the city and getting him some fresh air."

"Perhaps I'll take him to my family's summer estate." Addie thought out loud, "I did love spending time there when I was little."

"Anything is better than this city air." Doctor Williams commented, causing the lightest of smiles to appear on Addie's lips.

"Thank you, doctor, for taking care of my cousin."

"He was no trouble at all." Replied Doctor Williams light heartedly, casting a devious sideways glance in Erik's general direction.

Erik caught the doctor's hint and was not amused. The scowl that now adorned Erik's mouth only caused Doctor William's to smile broadly, doing his best to contain the laughter threatening to burst out of him.

Addie ignored their silent banter; curious to know exactly what happened before she came to get Erik, but not curious enough to ask.

 _I probably don't want to know._

"If you do decide to travel, I suggest giving him a day or so to rest first." Doctor Williams advised.

"That won't be a problem. I would have to make arrangements first."

"Then I won't delay your time any longer." Doctor Williams turned his head slightly to address Erik, "I do hope you feel better soon, Mr. Annwyl."

Erik was polite enough to bow his head in response.

"And Miss Hadleigh," Addie turned her head away from the doctor's gaze. She knew that if she looked she would see that knowing glance, laced with sympathy. And sure enough when she did find the courage to meet his gaze there was that same look, magnified by the spectacles that he wore that were now slipping down the bridge of his nose. The same look he gave her when he diagnosed her when she was only seven years old. "take care of yourself."

"Don't I always?" she said with a false smile.

Doctor Williams gave her a friendly, yet sad smile in return before leaving her and Erik to attend to his waiting patients.

"One more thing." Doctor Williams called back over his shoulder to Addie, "Be sure to feed your cousin. The man is lighter than a feather."

His last comment made Addie smile genuinely while Erik rolled his eyes and sank into his seat.

She watched as the doctor made his way back into the hospital before turning to address her coachman, John.

"Let's go home."

"Yes, Miss Hadleigh."

Addie had just stepped onto the carriage step when she heard someone shout out her name.

"Addie!"

Addie felt as if her whole body had just frozen, and she would swear that her heart ceased to beat after hearing that voice.

"Addie!" They called again, this time they were closer.

She shook slightly at hearing the joy in that voice.

 _Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!_ She cursed, _Why? After all this time, why?_

Erik titled his head at the sudden change in Addie, he was about to ask her what was wrong when a handsome young man halted right by side her. He shrank back not wanting to be seen, but watched carefully for any signs of distress from Addie. He may not have trusted her, but he would not allow any harm to befall her either.

"Addie?" The voice was now at her side, breathless as though they had ran a great distance just to see her.

She couldn't ignore them now; even as her inner voice fought against polite protocol, advising her to leave immediately. Though it would have been the smart choice to ignore them and run she found that she didn't want to leave.

Addie's heart began to beat dangerously fast as she turned to greet her new visitor with a warm wobbly smile.

"Hello, Nathan."

 **And I bet some of you thought he wasn't going to make a reappearance, well HA!**

 **Thank you for reading this chapter, I hoped ya'll enjoyed reading it, as it was an enjoyment for me to work on it. See you in chapter 7!**


End file.
